Microsoft Teams now allows you to switch to a 3D avatar

Users of Microsoft Teams may now make their own 3D avatars to represent them in meetings, eliminating the need for a webcam or live participation. Microsoft has been developing these 3D avatars for the past year and is ready to roll them out to the public today for usage in Microsoft Teams.

They were first revealed in 2021. Microsoft product marketing manager Avery Salumbides writes on the corporate blog that avatars for Microsoft Teams provide an alternative to the current binary option of video or no video. You can put the camera down and still collaborate effectively while using Avatars for Teams.

Everything Related to Microsoft Teams’ Avatars!

If you’re using a computer without a webcam, you won’t have to worry about missing out on the fun with Microsoft Teams’ new avatars; they’ll move and talk in response to your voice commands alone. Initiating the public preview today, Microsoft plans to widely release these avatars in May.

The Microsoft Mesh technology has been powering these avatars in private previews for the past six months, and now the company is introducing a new lighting system to enhance the look of avatar skin and hair. You can now add bindis and hearing aids to your avatar’s arsenal of accessories.

While using emoji replies in Microsoft Teams, Microsoft’s avatars will also become animated. Your Team’s avatar will raise its hand and respond to thumbs up if you utilize the raise a hand feature in a meeting.

The Microsoft Mesh integration in Teams is where these avatars will most likely be used for 3D meetings. Microsoft’s recent shutdown of AltspaceVR, a social virtual reality platform it had acquired, inspired the development of Mesh, a collaborative network that features virtual avatars.

Microsoft has collaborated with Meta to release a virtual reality experience for Teams on devices that support VR, allowing users to participate in meetings using 3D avatars in a virtual environment.